On the fifth floor of the Resting Crane Tree, a crew of cooks hustle back and forth as they make haste to service the esteemed guests. The sound of oil sizzling within the woks and knives rhythmically chopping fill the grand kitchen, never pausing for a single moment to ensure that food is ready in a timely manner. Amidst the organized chaos, a double clap rings out, causing everyone to pause and refocus their attention towards the man standing at the front of the kitchen.
“Five five-spice braised pork belly, three pekin duck and scallion cakes, eight special fried rice, two beggar’s chicken, two stir-fried bamboo shoots, twelve shark fin soups, eight bird nest soups! Prepare five imperial hotpots and three szechuan hotpots! Understood?!”
“Yes, chef!” The entire crew of cooks yell in unison before hustling to their respective stations.
As the crew starts preparing the second wave of meals, the double doors to the kitchen swing open to reveal a young man. He rushes towards the chef with careful haste and hands him a note.
“Hmmm?” The chef raises a brow as he reads through the meals listed on the note. “What’s the meaning of this? Takeout? This isn’t a-”
“The Young Lady, chef.” The young man hastily explains and he lowers his gaze, nervous over interrupting the chef in the middle of lunch service.
“Lady Maoyi?”
“Yes, chef. She urges that we take our time with service before fulfilling her request.”
“Nonsense!” The chef whips his head towards the crew and claps his hands twice. Once again, the entire crew pauses and turns their attention towards their boss. “Attention! Special priority request from the Young Lady of Jin! Seven special fried rice, no spring onions on one! Seven shark fin soups! Get to it!”
“Yes, chef!”
The three men manning the wok stations continue as they had been whilst the rest of the crew shift their focus to preparing ingredients for the fried rice. As the crew work to fulfill the special request, the chef lines up seven plates on the counter before him. He pulls out a cloth from his sash, folding it around his fingers before wiping each plate vigorously to ensure a pristine shine. As he makes his way through the plates, the young man watches, face full of anxiety.
“Uhm… Chef…” The young man finally gathers the courage to interrupt his boss. “Lady Maoyi requested it to go… Don’t we nee-”
“Of course we do!” The chef yells as he slaps the cloth onto the counter. Guising his embarrassment as anger, he continues. “Well? Don’t just stand there. Go and fetch me some containers!”
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“Instructor!” A guard blurts out, his eyes wide with disbelief upon hearing the absurd statement. “Are you… Surely you exaggerate, right? I mean, point one percent?”
Sun stares blankly at the guard, confused about the confusion. As he scans across the crowd, he realizes that the confusion isn’t isolated to just that one guard.
“Maybe… twenty bronze coins?” Sun chuckles awkwardly, scratching his head as he tries to think of ways to clear up the confusion. Seeing no change in their expressions, he continues. “Uh… fifty bronze coins?”
Despite being five times larger than his initial number, the disbelief on everyone's faces does not fade one bit. The guards exchange glances before turning back towards Sun. The guard who initially spoke up steps forwards, cupping his hands and bowing deeply.
“Apologies for disrupting your lunch, Instructor. Guard Jiufei requests a duel at five percent.”
Following his lead, the rest of the guards cup their hands and bow as well with piqued curiosity. For the past month or so, they had gathered by the training field during their lunch break. At first, it was just a pair of patrolling guards. Day by day, two turned into four and four turned into eight. Every single guard present, having observed multiple training sessions from the sidelines, had grown accustomed to the immense pressure above the training field. Nobody thought much of it, thinking that perhaps the instructor is not the type to go easy during training.
Seeing their earnest display of curiosity, Sun smiles and rises to his feet. Dan and Wei instinctively rise along with him, Wei holding everyone’s lunch boxes while Dan helps Yuyu to her feet. They all step out from the training field and onto the walkway, seating themselves beside Lia before resuming their lunch.
With the training field cleared, Sun turns and walks towards the center. Upon arriving, he extends a single finger and flicks it across the training field. The force from his finger carves through the tiles, dividing the training field down the middle. With that, he lifts his heels and disappears from where he stands, reappearing at the edge with a gust of wind. Judging Sun’s actions to be a sign of acceptance, the guards enter the field one by one and line up on the opposite side. With everyone lined up, Sun plants his palm on the ground and erects a barrier to isolate the training field.
“What is this?” One of the guards asks, his eyes scanning across the thin divide carved across the tiles on the training field.
“A test. Please don’t take this the wrong way, but if you wish to duel me at five silver coins…” Sun rises to his feet, extending his left hand towards the guards. “You need to at least make it past that line.”
Although it was a brazen statement, not a single guard dared to take the instructor before them lightly. They lower their knees and circulate their aura to the max, bracing themselves for whatever trial awaits.
“Please brace yourselves.” Sun’s tone suddenly turns serious, hoping that the guards don’t take his warning lightly. “On my call, you may start”
Seeing the guards nod in unison, a silent confirmation that they’re ready, Sun carefully sends a minute amount of aura to his hand. Making sure to stay under two percent, he lifts his palm slightly before flicking downwards.
“Go.”